{June 19, 2014} {Release Day Launch} Treasures, Demons, and Other Black Magic by Meghan Ciana Doidge (Dowser #3)

Treasures, Demons, and Other Black Magic by Meghan Ciana Doidge

Genre: Urban Fantasy (adult) (new adult)

Synopsis:

I hadn’t set foot in the human world for more than a few hours in over three and a half months. Sure, I was stronger and faster than I’d ever been before, and I had a shiny new sword, but I was seriously chocolate deprived. I don’t recommend quitting cold turkey. And the new sword was a problem — to my mind, anyway. It represented all the expectations of a powerful father and a new otherworldly life. A life that wasn’t the one I’d worked so hard to build. It also represented the responsibility I had to bring my foster sister Sienna to … what? Justice? I didn’t know if that was even possible. What I did know was that Sienna wouldn’t stop, and that I couldn’t just leave everything up to fate and destiny … or maybe I was. Maybe I was doing exactly what I was supposed to be doing. If you believed in that sort of thing.

I just hoped that before the chaos and mayhem renewed, I’d manage to get my hands on some chocolate. It didn’t even have to be single-origin Madagascar. I was utterly prepared to lower my standards.

BUY LINKS

Amazon Universal: myBook.to/Treasures_onAmazon

Smashwords: https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/447404

Kobo: http://store.kobobooks.com/en-CA/ebook/treasures-demons-and-other-black-magic

iBooks: https://itunes.apple.com/us/book/treasures-demons-other-black/id889221118?ls=1&mt=11

B&N: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/treasures-demons-and-other-black-magic-dowser-3-meghan-ciana-doidge/1119733532?ean=2940046007411

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Check out these early reviews

“Once again, Meghan does a fabulous job of telling a compelling story of love and power, life and death, and the strength and weakness of family. This is a great story, and is high on my list of best loved reads!” – Leiah from So I Read This Book Today

http://soireadthisbooktoday.com/2014/06/04/review-treasures-demons-and-other-black-magic-dowser-3-by-meghan-ciana-doidge-2/

“….like practically nonstop action from the moment you start reading. Our cupcake baking, chocolate craving half witch and her friends not only use magic to do battle, but swords, knives, fists.”

Heather from Doubleshot: http://doubleshotbookreviews.com/2014/06/06/treasures-demons-and-other-black-magic-dowser-series-book-3-by-meghan-ciana-doidge/

Sarah Elizabeth via Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/925343083

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About Megan Ciana Doidge

Meghan Ciana Doidge is an award-winning writer based out of Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. She has a penchant for bloody love stories, superheroes, and the supernatural. She also has a thing for chocolate, potatoes, and sock yarn.

Novels – After The Virus, Spirit Binder, Time Walker, Cupcakes, Trinkets, and Other Deadly Magic – Dowser #1, Trinkets, Treasures, and Other Bloody Magic – Dowser #2, Treasures, Demons, and Other Black Magic – Dowser #3

Novellas/Shorts – Love Lies Bleeding and The Graveyard Kiss

WARNING: author has been known to manipulate characters with chocolate, sex, and fantastical plotting. Readers beware http://author.to/meghancianadoidge

Links:

Blog, www.madebymeghan.ca

Twitter, @mcdoidge

Facebook, Meghan Ciana Doidge

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Amazon Author Page

Goodreads Author Page

{April 17, 2014} {Review} Desire by P.T. Michelle (Brightest Kind of Darkness #4)

From Goodreads: Now that Nara and Ethan are working together to uncover the Corvus’ secrets, they’re confident nothing can stop them.

But while they’ve learned to anticipate dark outside forces gunning for them, neither is prepared for the insidious evil that slithers its way into their lives, nor the new challenges that surface so close to home.

Despite all the chaos and turmoil around them, the one constant they can depend on is their devotion and loyalty to each other. But as their relationship moves into deeper territory, sometimes the toughest battles are the ones waged within.

While the hunt for answers unravels more layers in the Corvus world, they also uncover new truths about themselves and their intricate connection to the powerful raven spirit.

When boundaries are suddenly redrawn and control shifts, Ethan and Nara will be forced to make choices that could bring them closer together or rip them apart forever.

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P.T. Michelle knows how to pack a punch in her writing, and I’ve been in love with her Brightest Kind of Darkness since the very beginning. Not only are her characters absolutely amazing, but her plotline is also fascinating and enticing, sprinkling in elements of romance and realism into this fast-paced, action packed paranormal series, and I just can’t get enough.

Desire, the fourth installment in this riveting series, kept me on my toes and held my attention just like all those that came before it, and I’m already on pins and needles waiting for the fifth and final book in the series. The plot is thickening, as they say, and Nara and Ethan are facing even more peril as the Corvus world begins to take over, threatening all that they hold dear. With Ethan torn between his own love for Nara and the uncontrollable force of his Corvus, Nara struggling to make sense of her role in it all, and demons intent on killing the Master Corvus, time is of the essence, and something Ethan and Nara are running out of, as it were.

I love that over the course of the series, both Ethan and Nara have really developed and come into themselves. And in Destiny, Michelle takes readers into a more mature relationship between the two main characters. Now, while I’m not one who really condones sexual relationships in my novels, (hence I’d put a 16+ rating on this novel) it works. Ethan and Nara have been through so much in the span of four novels, and it is definitely time for them to take their relationship to the next level. Though I’m a prude, Michelle handles this relationship shift with care, and I suspect that readers who have been following the series will rejoice in this union as it hits full bloom in a more explicit manner.

I love how Michelle blends romance with action, keeping readers on their toes, especially with the climactic ending that will leave readers dying for more. Overall, Michelle is an extremely talented writer and I love living inside the pages with her true-to-life characters, and I highly recommend this entire series to lovers of all things paranormal. Four and a half stars.

I received this novel from the author in exchange for an honest review.

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{March 6, 2014} {Cover Reveal} Stone Cold Touch by Jennifer L. Armentrout (The Dark Elements #2)

It’s Time!! The STONE COLD TOUCH cover is here!

We cannot wait to share the cover for Jennifer L. Armentrout’s STONE COLD TOUCH with you all! STONE COLD TOUCH is a young adult paranormal romance by Jennifer L. Armentrout and is the second full-length novel in The Dark Elements Series being published by Harlequin Teen. You’ll want to add this to your TBR pile ASAP. Check out this amazing cover!

Isn’t it awesome?! You can Pre-order it right now!

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STONE COLD TOUCH Synopsis:

Every touch has its price

Layla Shaw is trying to pick up the pieces of her shattered life—no easy task for a seventeen-year-old who’s pretty sure things can’t get worse. Her impossibly gorgeous best friend, Zayne, is forever off-limits thanks to the mysterious powers of her soul-stealing kiss. The Warden clan that has always protected her is suddenly keeping dangerous secrets. And she can barely think about Roth, the wickedly hot demon prince who understood her in ways no one else could.

But sometimes rock bottom is only the beginning. Because suddenly Layla’s powers begin to evolve, and she’s offered a tantalizing taste of what has always been forbidden. Then, when she least expects it, Roth returns, bringing news that could change her world forever. She’s finally getting what she always wanted, but with hell literally breaking loose and the body count adding up, the price may be higher than Layla is willing to pay…

“Constantly entertaining…the narrative sizzles with as much tension as romance.”

—Kirkus Reviews on White Hot Kiss

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And…Don’t forget to check out the first book in The Dark Elements Series,

WHITE HOT KISS!

WHITE HOT KISS Synopsis:

One kiss could be the last.

Seventeen-year-old Layla just wants to be normal. But with a kiss that kills anything with a soul, she’s anything but normal. Half demon, half gargoyle, Layla has abilities no one else possesses.

Raised among the Wardens—a race of gargoyles tasked with hunting demons and keeping humanity safe—Layla tries to fit in, but that means hiding her own dark side from those she loves the most. Especially Zayne, the swoon-worthy, incredibly gorgeous and completely off-limits Warden she’s crushed on since forever.

Then she meets Roth—a tattooed, sinfully hot demon who claims to know all her secrets. Layla knows she should stay away, but she’s not sure she wants to—especially when that whole no-kissing thing isn’t an issue, considering Roth has no soul.

But when Layla discovers she’s the reason for the violent demon uprising, trusting Roth could not only ruin her chances with Zayne…it could brand her a traitor to her family. Worse yet, it could become a one-way ticket to the end of the world.

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About Jennifer L. Armentrout:

# 1 NEW YORK TIMES and USA TODAY Bestselling author Jennifer lives in Martinsburg, West Virginia. All the rumors you’ve heard about her state aren’t true. When she’s not hard at work writing. she spends her time reading, working out, watching really bad zombie movies, pretending to write, and hanging out with her husband and her Jack Russell Loki.

Her dreams of becoming an author started in algebra class, where she spent most of her time writing short stories….which explains her dismal grades in math. Jennifer writes young adult paranormal, science fiction, fantasy, and contemporary romance. She is published with Spencer Hill Press, Entangled Teen and Brazen, Disney/Hyperion and Harlequin Teen. Her book Obsidian has been optioned for a major motion picture and her Covenant Series has been optioned for TV.

She also writes adult and New Adult romance under the name J. Lynn. She is published by Entangled Brazen and HarperCollins.

The Dark Elements Series Website

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Jennifer L. Armentrout Goodreads

STONE COLD TOUCH Goodreads

WHITE HOT KISS Goodreads

{February 23, 2014} {ARC Review} White Hot Kiss by Jennifer L. Armentrout (The Dark Elements #1)

From Goodreads: One kiss could be the last.

Seventeen-year-old Layla just wants to be normal. But with a kiss that kills anything with a soul, she’s anything but normal. Half demon, half gargoyle, Layla has abilities no one else possesses.

Raised among the Wardens—a race of gargoyles tasked with hunting demons and keeping humanity safe—Layla tries to fit in, but that means hiding her own dark side from those she loves the most. Especially Zayne, the swoon-worthy, incredibly gorgeous and completely off-limits Warden she’s crushed on since forever.

Then she meets Roth—a tattooed, sinfully hot demon who claims to know all her secrets. Layla knows she should stay away, but she’s not sure she wants to—especially when that whole no-kissing thing isn’t an issue, considering Roth has no soul.

But when Layla discovers she’s the reason for the violent demon uprising, trusting Roth could not only ruin her chances with Zayne…it could brand her a traitor to her family. Worse yet, it could become a one-way ticket to the end of the world.

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This was an absolutely brilliant novel by the ever talented Jennifer Armentrout. I was wrapped up tightly in the story from the very beginning, and I just love the world that Armentrout has created. Imagine finding out that Wardens, gargoyle like creates, really walk the earth. They say that they are here to protect mankind, but their aloofness, hard exterior (no pun intended), and their ability to take human form, make them an entity to be feared among the human race. But what humans don’t know is that the Wardens are really here to fight the demons—and their secret weapon? Layla, a half-demon, half gargoyle, whose touch creates a beacon on any demon she comes in contact with, allows the Wardens to easily remove the threat of demons without the humans evening knowing it exists…

Welcome to Layla’s life. She’s a kick-butt heroine who lives with the Wardens, having embraced her Warden side and despising all things demon (including her own self)—partially because it’s been drilled into her for so long—ever since she was brought to the Warden complex as a child—and partially because she knows it means she’ll never know love. Layla has a decent life, though she’s never been kissed, and the love of her life, Zayne, a full-blooded Warden, can never be hers—mainly because Layla’s kiss can suck the life right out of whoever, or whatever, it is she’s kissing. Unless it’s a demon… but that would be going against every mantra engrained in her head since she can remember. But is it truly wrong? Are all demons evil, like Layla’s been led to believe?

Armentrout takes readers on a whirlwind, fast paced adventure in her latest novel, White Hot Kiss, and I loved every minute of it, from the heart pounding action and soft budding romance to the betrayals and final revelation, this novel is perfect in every sense of the word… and I can’t wait for more. I loved Zayne, but Roth is my true love. A demon, a bad boy, and ever so right for Layla, he proves himself time and time again, and thus readers can’t help but wonder, who is telling the truth? The Wardens or the demons? You’ll have to read this enticing story to find out. Five amazing stars.

Harlequin Teen has been extremely gracious in allowing me to read an ARC of this novel, via Netgalley, prior to its release on February 25, 2014.

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You need to pre-order this one–Amazon has it for less than 6 bucks!!

AND–the PREQUEL, Bitter Sweet Love, is currently FREE on Amazon (at time of this post)! SCOOP IT UP STAT!

{December 15, 2013} {ARC Review} Angelbound by Christina Bauer (Angelbound #1)

From Goodreads: Eighteen year old Myla Lewis is a girl who loves two things: kicking ass and kicking ass. She’s not your every day quasi-demon, half-demon and half-human, girl. For the past five years, Myla has lived for the days she gets to fight in Purgatory’s arena. When souls want a trial by combat for their right to enter heaven or hell, they go up against her, and she hasn’t lost a battle yet.

But as she starts her senior year at Purgatory High, the arena fights aren’t enough to keep her spirits up anymore. When the demons start to act weird, even for demons, and the King of the Demons, Armageddon, shows up at Myla’s school, she knows that things are changing and it’s not looking good for the quasi-demons. Myla starts to question everything, and doesn’t like the answers she finds. What happened seventeen years ago that turned the quasi-demons into slave labor? Why was her mom always so sad? And why won’t anyone tell her who her father is? Things heat up when Myla meets Lincoln, the High Prince of the Thrax, a super sexy half-human and half-angel demon hunter. But what’s a quasi-demon girl to do when she falls for a demon hunter? It’s a good thing that Myla’s not afraid of breaking a few rules. With a love worth fighting for, Myla’s going to shake up Purgatory.

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I am so sorry to say that, while this novel started off interesting enough, it soon lost its luster, and at 535 pages, my lack of interest made this difficult to finish. In my opinion, it was just too long, and not enough happened to hold my attention. Instead, much of the text was repetitive, with Myla either fighting, lamenting about her life, or trying to find the truth. Due to the repetitive nature of the text, in my opinion it could actually be paired down quite a bit, making the novel a much more manageable size at about 250-300 pages, and including only the most important, fast paced action. I lost count the number of times Myla’s sickness during warp or the way the sand fell away to actual images during dreamscapes was referenced in the text, but I do know it was a lot, and this repetition of play-by-play, along with repetition of certain scenarios, took its toll after a while. As the novel stands now, there is just too much down time, in my opinion, and its choppy nature left me with many more questions than answers. And at 535 page, I feel like I should have all the answers.

Myla is a great fighter with a huge chip on her shoulder, and to be honest, she didn’t impress me. I got the feeling that the author really wanted to create a kick butt heroine who didn’t need anyone, someone who could take care of herself, but in truth, Myla just rubbed me the wrong way. She’s rude to those around her, is obsessed with fighting, doesn’t listen to anyone, and was a bit comical in her relations to those around her, especially with her incessant fist pumps every time something made her happy. Her best friend, one full of envy thanks to her demon half, was a complete jerk, and yet Myla repeatedly took the blame for their fights, which in my opinion, undermines her kick butt status because it’s plain to see her BFF is rude and using her, and I didn’t like either of the characters by the end.

Likewise, the insta-love relationship between Myla and Lincoln didn’t pan out in my mind. To go from hating each other so passionately to being undoubtedly in love, well… that just didn’t work for me. I think it had potential, but the execution of it all didn’t fit, which is unfortunate.

Myla’s mother’s story also had the potential to be enthralling, but it took so long to come out, chopped up in bits and pieces, that I lost interest before all was said and done. The dreamscape was a great idea, but as it was extremely repetitive in nature and went unexplained much of the time, I found it fell a bit flat.

Overall, I found that I wanted a faster pace, less repetition, a better scene flow with less plot holes, realistic characterization, and a shorter text. So, while this novel had much potential and I really wanted to like it, it fell a bit flat for me. Two and a half stars.

INscribe Digital and Ink Monster LLC have been extremely gracious in allowing me to read an ARC of this novel, via Netgalley, prior to its release on December 17, 2013.

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{December 8, 2013} {Review} Sweet Peril by Wendy Higgins (The Sweet Trilogy #2)

From Goodreads: Anna Whitt, the daughter of a guardian angel and a demon, promised herself she’d never do the work of her father—polluting souls. She’d been naive to make such a vow. She’d been naive about a lot of things.

Haunted by demon whisperers, Anna does whatever she can to survive, even if it means embracing her dark side and earning an unwanted reputation as her school’s party girl. Her life has never looked more bleak. And all the while there’s Kaidan Rowe, son of the Duke of Lust, plaguing her heart and mind.

When an unexpected lost message from the angels surfaces, Anna finds herself traveling the globe with Kopano, son of Wrath, in an attempt to gain support of fellow Nephilim and give them hope for the first time. It soon becomes clear that whatever freedoms Anna and the rest of the Neph are hoping to win will not be gained without a fight. Until then, Anna and Kaidan must put aside the issues between them, overcome the steamiest of temptations yet, and face the ultimate question: is loving someone worth risking their life?

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Kaidan Rowe, glorious, swoon-worthy Kaidan Rowe, is back. And I love him. My heart belonged to him in Sweet Evil, and this second, riveting novel in the series solidified that fact in this steamy portrayal of love. He is perfect.

In the beginning, I was a little worried that Higgins was pulling a Stephanie Meyer in that Kaidan’s scenes were few and far between. Just like when Meyers removed Edward from New Moon, placing Jacob at the forefront, Higgins seemed to pull Kaidan. He barely existed within the pages, and it was killing me as I watched Anna’s love for him slowly deteriorate as she struggled to understand and internalize his rejection. They were so perfect together, and while it made sense that he had to back off, his blasé mannerisms and lack of scenes within the novel drove me batty, especially as Kopano is now on the scene, attempting to win Anna’s favor, and while I do like Kopano, he’s no Kaidan. Just like Jacob is no Edward.

Thankfully, Higgins only toys with our emotions for so long, bringing Kaidan back into the novel on an extremely high and sensual note, and Anna and his love once again has the chance to kindle and grow. But it is still touch and go, especially with the demons out to destroy all Nephilim who stand against them, and in solidifying their love, that is exactly what Kaidan and Anna are preparing to do.

This is not a story of angels, but rather a story of demons and their half children—a love story so powerful you won’t be able to put it down. If you haven’t yet read the first novel in this amazing trilogy, Sweet Evil, then you need to do so ASAP, because Sweet Peril is just as amazing, and you don’t want to miss. Believe me. Five stars.